Midnight Cove

Chapter Fifteen: Naked Truth

I couldn't believe my eyes. A man too good looking to be anything other than a model was standing not more than twenty feet away from me. He was smiling a broad smile filled with perfect pearly white teeth and he was completely naked.

I didn't know what to feel at first. I would have felt embarrassed enough to look away but turning my head was quite a task at the moment. I also recognized the fact that if I could barely turn my head then any hope at getting away from a naked man that close to me was impossible, which meant that I should by all rights be extremely terrified, but I wasn't really. I felt excited. The electricity in the air was palpable.

I lied there as still as the dead on that cold, damp, sandy floor. My body was aching and my heart raced in my chest as I listened to the water drip from the rocky cavern walls high above me. I lied there staring into the face of this beautiful man before me. He was heavenly, ethereal, like an angel. His  muscular torso and narrow waist were sinfully seductive. I felt a quiver of warmth burn between my thighs.

This stranger looked like he had just descended from Mount Olympus. Like a Greek god, with his tan golden skin, a strong square jawline, and soft full lips shaped into a pouty pink bow. His thick, dark hair was cut short, framing an almost boyish looking face that could be no more than seventeen. His eyes were so brown they were on the verge of black, so dark and deep I felt lost in them; they were framed by a long fringe of lashes and set beneath two thick brows that arched perfectly in their centers.

Everything about him was masculine, and yet, he had an underlying softness that made him appear young and nearly androgynous. Each muscle was clearly defined. The deep lines cutting through his flesh pronounced the protrusion of every tendon, every muscle, every vein. He wasn't aroused which was hopefully, good news. Although I was in excruciating pain, I was still fairly certain the oddly naked, and extremely attractive, man was hiding a smile as he stared down at me.

"Who are you?" My voice was still coarse and rough from the salt water I swallowed. I tried to clear my aching throat, "Where am I?"

"Coral, you're alright," the beautiful stranger said. It wasn't like he said it with any relief, it was like he was telling me I was alright. Who was he? How would he know if I was alright? I was pretty sure he wasn't going to hurt me, but he sure wasn't a doctor either. And I found it a bit pretentious.

"How do you know my name? Who are you?" I didn't have much strength, but I still wanted to know who this guy was. I had the right to know what had happened to me.

"I guess you hit your head harder than I thought." He anxiously combed his hand back through his short hair. "It's me, Coral, Phoenix. Don't you remember?"

"Phoenix..." I said the name slowly. It sounded so familiar. Then it hit me, "Phoenix!" He was Cove's brother.

"Yeah," he smiled sheepishly at my recognition. His beautiful smile gleaming in the darkness, I could just barely make out the indentations of his dimples.

"What the Hell, Phoenix? What's going on? Why are you here? And why are you naked? And where the Hell am I?" I struggled to sit up, the ache in my head violently protesting.

"Here," he said, "Let me help you." Phoenix came close with his arms out to assist me in my effort to sit upright.

"No," I said, waving him off. "You stay away from me!" I would have shouted at him but I couldn't muster up the strength so, he got off with a stern warning.

"Suit yourself," Phoenix raised his hands in defense and backed away from me. "You are really quite stubborn." His amused tone grated on my nerves.

"Shut up," I retorted, too annoyed to think of anything better to say. Phoenix laughed. Whether he was laughing at my discomfort or at my pathetic response I had no idea.